UPDATE:Just found out from a friend that Hamley’s moved to Engomi. Hamley’s, you could have left us a note on your door. Just saying. Thanks, A, for the info.!

—————

Since this whole economic crisis in Cyprus, I surely thought people would be living like they were under a hurricane warning: stocking up on canned goods, staying indoors, and eating out less. On our lazy Saturday, we ventured out to the Mall of Cyprus for lunch and a trip to Hamley’s, a toy store within walking distance to the mall.

At first, everything seemed normal. We had to wait a bit to find a parking spot. We waited in line at the food court. We searched for the right table to plop down and eat our lovely American fast food meals.

There was a grandmotherly-type woman and her husband who sat next to us. The couple left the table, and you would think she would leave behind a scarf or something non-important to hold her table. Nope. She left her purse! Prof and I thought of all the places in the world where that purse would be gone in seconds: Rome, Barcelona, or New York City. And me? I had my bag strapped over my shoulder and seated right at my hip between Linus and me. It just goes to show you how safe the woman still felt in Cyprus.

I mean, it all looked relatively normal. After all, people were still shopping and eating at the mall, right?

After lunch, we walked to Hamley’s, a favorite past time when we go to the mall. It lets the kids look at stuff, color at the kiddy table, and just pass time on a lazy Saturday. As soon as walked up to Hamley’s, the doors were locked, and the lights were out. The place was a ghost town. In hindsight, I thought it was strange that there were no outdoor toys in front of the store for display. The boys took it all in stride, especially since Piano Man has been hearing about “banks going out of business” (echoing the words of Piano Man).

On our drive home, we noticed Megamart, a furniture store, also had signs indicating it was closing down its stores for good. Thus, I am not sure if people have changed their consumer buying habits yet, or if certain stores like Hamley’s and Megamart were already on its way out of business.